Mussels are affordable and delicious, and they work perfectly with pasta. I like to remove the shells from about half the mussels in pasta dishes – just so the dish is a little easier to eat.

INGREDIENTS

• 1kg mussels
• 500g dried linguine
• ½ cup olive oil
• 1 onion, finely diced
• 3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• ½ cup white wine
• 2 tbsp baby capers in brine, drained
• 150ml thickened cream
• salt and pepper, to season
• 2 tbsp chopped parsley
• lemon wedges, to serve

METHOD

1. Place a large frypan over high heat and add about 500ml of water. Bring to the boil, add the mussels and cook for about 3 minutes, removing the individual mussels as soon as they open. Remove most of the mussels from their shells but reserve a few in their shells for garnish. Strain the liquid and set both the mussels and liquid aside. Wipe the pan or give it a quick rinse to remove any grit released by the mussels.
2. Cook the linguine in plenty of salted water according to the packet directions and test for readiness from 2 minutes before the specified time. Drain when the pasta is al dente, but retain about half a cup of the water.
3. Return the pan to medium heat and add the olive oil, onion and garlic. Cook for about 5 minutes until fragrant but not browned, then add the wine and cook for a further 2 minutes, until it stops smelling like wine. Add a little of the reserved mussel liquid (maybe half a cup, but it will depend on how saucy you want the dish to be), the capers and cream and bring to a simmer.
4. Toss the mussels and linguine through the sauce along with about ¼ to ½ a cup of the reserved pasta water. Serve with lemon wedges and parsley.

Serves 4

Tip: You don't need to purge or de-beard mussels before cooking. Tiny amounts of grit in the mussels can be strained (if you can be bothered) and just pick out any beards as you're eating.

This recipe is from episode four of Good Food Kitchen season 2, screening on 9Now.